Richard Broom Aviation Photography – Page 2

The Lightning (1) – Richard Broom Photography

The Pilot (6) – Richard Broom Photography

In today’s plastic and electronic world, we often seem to lose sight of how important engineering skills are to us. And, we especially lose sight of how important solid engineering training is. We certainly don’t always seem to make things like we used to. Perhaps it is because our politicians mostly read PPE at Oxford or are former lawyers. They wouldn’t know a spanner if it hit them on the head! That leads me to ask the question…what exactly are our politicians good for? Answer (as in the song): ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

The Pipework – Richard Broom Photography

The Up and Over – Richard Broom Photography

One of the very brave and highly inspirational women who, during World War 2, flew newly built aircraft from the factories to airfields around the UK. They flew without radios or any armaments. They flew many types of different aircraft with minimal training. Exceptional pilots.

The Pilot (5) – Richard Broom Photography

The Pilot (4) – Richard Broom Photography

The Pilot (3) – Richard Broom Photography

The Pilot (2) – Richard Broom Photography

The Pilot (1) – Richard Broom Photography

The Lightning – Richard Broom Photography

It could almost be a spaceship! The photograph was taken from the ‘back room’ of the Vulcan where three ‘back office’ crew members would have sat. It will be clear from the image that the Vulcan bomber was not build for comfort.

The Vulcan Bomber Cockpit – Richard Broom Photography

The Seaplane – Richard Broom Photography

If the firing pin interrupter mechanism didn’t work, there was every chance you would shoot your own propellor off.

The Big Guns – Richard Broom Photography

A slightly different version of this image.

The Ground Crew (2) – Version 2 – Richard Broom Photography

Over 57,000 aircrew were killed during World War 2 (46% death rate). I can’t help wondering how many more young men and women will be killed if fighting breaks out (again) in Iran/Iraq and beyond. Ultimately a pointless and tragic loss of human life. We never seem to learn.

The Utter Pointlessness of War – Richard Broom Photography

The Ground Crew (2) – Richard Broom Photography

The Ground Crew (1) – Richard Broom Photography

The Old Timer – Richard Broom Photography

The Ground Crew – Richard Broom Photography

The Squirter – Richard Broom Photography

The Russians are coming!!! – Richard Broom Photography

The gap between waves – Richard Broom Photography

The Fishing Boat – Richard Broom Photography

The German Bomber – Richard Broom Photography

The German Fighter – Richard Broom Photography

For Vulcan lovers everywhere…

The XM655 Engineers – Richard Broom Photography

I know, not technically a chopper!!

The Little Chopper – Richard Broom Photography

The Big Chopper – Richard Broom Photography

The Wing Walker – Richard Broom Photography

A curious way to look at an aircraft perhaps. For a long time, I rejected this image but, for some reason, it works for me today…

The Wing Root – Richard Broom Photography

The WW1 Fighter Cockpit – Richard Broom Photography

Very brave men flew these Lysander aircraft during WW2. The RAF pilots who flew these aircraft behind enemy lines, landed and either picked up or dropped off resistance fighters. The pilots would land in the dead of night in out of the way fields guided by only three people on the ground who held torches. No GPS or navigational aids in those days. The aircraft were unarmed.

The Lysander Cockpit – Richard Broom Photography

The Blue Bird – Richard Broom Photography

The Overflight (1) – Richard Broom Photography

The Flag Flyer – Richard Broom Photography

The Yellow & Red Nose – Richard Broom Photography

The American Warbird – Richard Broom Photography

The Spitfire (2) – Richard Broom Photography

The Spitfire (1) – Richard Broom Photography

The Lancaster (2) – Richard Broom Photography

The Blue Chopper – Richard Broom Photography

The Silver Bird – Richard Broom Photography

The First Engine – Richard Broom Photography

The Night Fighter – Richard Broom Photography

The Curvy Lady – Richard Broom Photography

The Dawn Departure – Richard Broom Photography

The Sunderland – Richard Broom Photography

The Hurricane – Richard Broom Photography

When flying was exciting!

The Old Style Cockpit – Richard Broom Photography

Following on from my image of the Jet Provost, here’s an image of the Piston Provost, the predecessor of the Jet Provost.

The Piston Provost – Richard Broom Photography

The American Warbird (2) – Richard Broom Photography

The American Warbird (1) – Richard Broom Photography

The Man & His Chopper – Richard Broom Photography

The Red Arrows – Richard Broom Photography

The Helicopter Girl – Richard Broom Photography

The Jet Provost – Richard Broom Photography

The Short Sunderland – Richard Broom Photography

Sheer undiluted power. From an era when we British used to build fine aircraft. A Lightning (AKA an intercontinental ballistic missile with a pilot sitting on the top!)